Characteristics and outcomes of children and adolescents with disabilities

Education and health disparities affecting students with disabilities and other special needs

Professional training and legal issues related to the provision of school psychological and special education services

In my research, I describe the educational and health experiences of children with and at-risk for disabilities and explore the ways in which various ecological factors promote or hinder development. My primary objectives are to (a) elucidate disparities in the educational treatment and outcomes of students with and at-risk for disabilities and (b) identify malleable factors related to outcomes in order to inform policy and practice to better support students’ educational needs. My program of research is grounded in the three-stage conceptual model for health disparities research: (1) definition and detection of disparities, (2) identification of individual, practitioner, and systemic determinants, and (3) development and evaluation of interventions and policies to reduce disparities, with an emphasis on expanding how we conceptualize educational disparities affecting students with disabilities.

Chhuon, V. & Sullivan, A. L. (2013). Racialization of abilities and disabilities in U.S. schools: Asian American and Pacific Islander students in gifted and special education. Perspectives on Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations, 20, 49-59.

Presentations

Select Invited Presentations

*Sadeh, S. S. & Sullivan, A. L. (2014, February). Distinguishing emotional disability and social maladjustment: Law into practice. Documented session at the annual convention of the National Association of School Psychologists.

Sullivan, A. L. (2012, November). Does preschool special education make a difference? Presentation at the AERA Grants Program Fall Conference, Washington, DC.

Sullivan, A. L. (2012, March). Beyond race: Contextual models of disproportionality in special education. Presentation at the University of Arizona, Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies, Tucson, AZ.

Sullivan, A. L. (2013, April). Underidentified and underserved?: Prevalence of and racial disproportionality in school-based identification of autism. Paper presentation at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.

Sullivan, A. L., & Chhuon, V. (2013, April). Expanding the discourse of minority disproportionality in special education: Asian American students with disabilities. Paper presentation at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.

*Sadeh, S. S. & Sullivan, A. L. (2013, February). Distinguishing emotional disturbance from social maladjustment: Case law since 2004. Paper presentation at the annual convention of the National Association of School Psychologists, Seattle, WA.